People & Talent Lead

Cartesian is building machine learning systems to map indoor environments at scale using wireless signals and mobile computer vision.

We're solving one of the largest challenges in the $35T global retail industry: in-store inventory visibility. Our breakthrough inventory intelligence solution delivers unprecedented indoor positioning and insights, already helping international fashion brands improve operations.

Founded by an MIT engineering professor and alum behind the award-winning, patented core technologies, Cartesian spun out in 2023. Since then, we’ve bootstrapped to a live product, secured a competitive SBIR grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, deployed in multiple countries, and begun generating customer revenue.

We’re hiring our first dedicated People & Talent Lead to lay the foundation for how we grow and scale our team. You’ll own recruiting end-to-end, bring best practices in people operations, and help us build the systems that will take Cartesian from 10 to 50 employees.

This role is a great fit for someone with a strong interest in both recruiting and people operations, and who wants to grow into a broader People leadership position. A background in tech recruiting is especially valuable, but what matters most is the ability to bring in top talent, familiarity with HR policies, and a drive to help build culture as we scale. You’ll work directly with the CEO/co-founders and Head of Operations to set our people strategy, run hiring, and shape the employee experience at every stage.

We’re looking for someone who cares deeply about talent, culture, and organizational health - someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and wants to help define how a high-performing, mission-driven startup scales.

You’ll be joining us in-person in the heart of Kendall Square, Cambridge, next to MIT and the Charles River.

Recruiting & Talent Acquisition

• Own full-cycle recruiting across all roles (tech and non-tech), working alongside the hiring managers: sourcing, outreach, candidate experience, interview process, offers, and closing.
• Partner with leadership to forecast hiring needs and build a people-count strategy.
• Build and manage our employer brand, talent pipelines, and recruiting infrastructure (ATS, scorecards, candidate tracking).
• Refine and share our compensation philosophy, ensuring competitive and consistent practices.

People Operations & Culture

• Develop and run our onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Lead performance management cycles, including reviews, leveling, and career ladders.
• Refine and expand HR policies, benefits programs, and compliance frameworks appropriate for a scaling startup.
• Ensure HR policies, benefits programs, and practices comply with state and federal employment law as we scale
• Partner with leadership on management training and team development initiatives.
• Be a cultural ambassador: strengthen team cohesion by leading engagement processes, team-building activities, and events that help scale our values.
• Pitch in on broader company initiatives and operational needs - like everyone at a startup, you’ll wear multiple hats when needed.

• Minimum 3 years of experience in recruiting or people roles, with a strong foundation in tech startup recruiting.
• Hands-on experience sourcing and closing candidates, with an established network in tech.
• Familiarity with HR systems (payroll, benefits, reviews, leveling) and interest in expanding into ownership of these areas.
• Excellent communication skills; able to partner with leadership and represent Cartesian externally.
• Organized, proactive, and excited to take on new responsibilities as the company grows.

• Experience at a startup during a scale-up phase (e.g., 10 → 50 employees).
• Experience with managing or providing support to performance review cycles, career frameworks, and management training programs.
• Familiarity with compensation benchmarking and equity design.
• Prior leadership or “first people hire” experience.

• Be the first dedicated People & Talent hire at a scaling MIT spinout.
• Take on a role with immediate impact in recruiting while shaping long-term People practices.
• Work directly with founders on organizational and cultural strategy.
• Grow with us into a senior leadership role as the company scales.
• Join a driven, collaborative team solving a real-world problem in retail.

• Annual salary: 120K-145K
• Health & dental benefits